1. Chairman’s Statement:

Welcome to the January Newsletter, and a Happy New Year to all our members. Thank you for your continuing support. We look forward to another successful SBAA year. During the festive season, I treated myself to two fine beers: Gordon Xmas Ale, brewed by John Martin SA in Belgium, and Merlin’s Scottish Pale Ale brewed by Broughton Brewery.

Both these beers have an interesting story to tell, which led me to the idea of having a regular feature in the Newsletter. 

Gordon Xmas Ale – 8.8% ABV. It was first brewed in the 1930s and was one of the original Christmas Ales produced. Its origin can be traced back to Scotland. Scottish & Newcastle did brew this beer specifically for the Belgian market.

Merlin’s Scottish Pale Ale – 4.2% ABV. Legend has it that Merlin the wizard is buried near the village of Drumelzier, two miles from Broughton Brewery, where it is brewed. 

If you have a favourite beer with a story to tell, please write in. Cold Town Beer has submitted an article on Doddie Beir to kick start this. Read this later on.

The AGM held in November was well attended and raised some important points. Ivor, our Secretary, when forwarding the AGM minutes, asked if you would prefer a digital copy of the Journal, which you can access on the SBAA website, under publications. This is available to members only using the password provided. This was discussed as a result of rising printing and postage costs of the hard copy, currently provided. Following the business end of the AGM, Ian Herok gave an excellent talk on the history of Belhaven Brewery and to publicise his book, Still Brewing After All These Years

Thank you to all contributors for articles in the Newsletter and Journal, and hope this will continue. Unfortunately, Robbie, the editor of the Journal, is stepping down after 7 successful years. Thank you Robbie. 

As a result, we are looking for a new editor. If you know of anyone who would be willing to undertake this role, please get in touch.

We will confirm this year’s activities in the April Newsletter. At the AGM several ideas were tabled which will be considered. 

John Martin

2. Doddie Beir

Created in partnership with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Doddie Beir is more than just a craft lager—it’s a celebration of resilience, character and community. Brewed by Cold Town Beer, the lager honours the late Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir OBE, whose courage and humour throughout his battle with MND inspired the nation. A portion of every pint and pack sold continues to support vital MND research

To win, you pulled the ring pull and if you were lucky, underneath there was a symbol to indicate you were a winner.

4. Trouble at the Shore Brewery Alloa.

The SBAA saw fit to publish an article I submitted for the Journal , “The Calders of Alloa” in Volume 17 2017.

There was a reference to a court case where James Calder (1832-1917) owner of the brewery was alleged to have assaulted his business “partner” James Tait McNellan (1818-1885).

Following publication, I have been able to discover more, especially the final legal outcome.

For those readers unfamiliar with the earlier article here is some basic background to the drama.

The brewery, founded in 1816 by John McNellan, had entered receivership in 1862, then Calder, a wood merchant of Perth with a timber yard in Alloa purchased the brewery. He had no experience of the brewing trade so it’s not unreasonable to conclude that he retained the services of McNellan’s son as an assistant following the acquisition.

Reports indicate that it continued to trade under the McNellan name for a few short years, a temporary commercial convenience. By all accounts Calder was a vigorous businessman and McNellan’s “partnership” was in name only.
Let’s cut to the chase – on 5th November 1870 Calder appeared at Alloa Burgh Court accused of striking McNellan with a fire shovel in the brewery office, in retaliation for a slap on the face, as this dispute developed in the presence of four office clerks.

The confrontation resulted from Calder opening a personal letter to McNellan which had been delivered to the office rather than his personal address in accommodation linked to the brewery. The latter was clearly unhappy about this breach of privacy.

Calder was an elected member of Alloa Burgh Police Board so this must have caused him a great deal of embarrassment, especially when the Magistrate decided the case should be referred to the higher Sheriff Court.

Following his appearance in court Calder was followed home to the brewery owner’s residence by a hostile crowd venting their feelings.

It’s a matter of conjecture if this reflected a dislike of Calder around the town, or of McNellan’s popularity locally – his family having had longer ties in Alloa, whereas Calder was a relative newcomer.

You may think that, of course I couldn’t possibly comment.
Michael Clark

5. The £5 Pint !

In November last year, I read with interest an article by the award-winning beer writer, Pete Brown, that provided a cost breakdown based on the average price of a £5 pint.

In 2020, the average price of a pint of lager was £3.75, and in January 2025 it rose to £4.83, and soon afterwards it reached £5. The price, however, does vary throughout the UK; in some London venues it is more than £10, and over £6 in some Edinburgh pubs.

Important to note that the hospitality industry employs about 7% of the UK workforce.

The article concludes that pubs need a cut in VAT for hospitality from 20% to 13% in order to survive.

Over the years, I would often be asked why beer was so expensive. I would reply by saying that a third of the price was down to taxes (VAT, Duty, Business Rates), and one of the few products that is taxed more than once. On examining this diagram, this has not changed much.
John Martin

5. Celebrating 140 years – limited edition

Tennent’s have introduced a limited addition Bavarian Pilsner to commemorate the introduction of Bavarian brewing techniques to Scotland in 1885. It is available in cans and in selected outlets on draught. It is an excellent light coloured beer with a distinctive delicate hop note derived from German hops and is exceptionally smooth drinking at 4.7% abv.

For more information and to find out where you can try or obtain the Pilsner check the link below :

https://www.tennents.com/uk/our-beers/tennents-bavarian-pilsner
Given Tennent’s pioneering work in packaging, its possible they the were the first ever to make “Pilsener” available in a can. The photo on the right dates from the 1930s.

6. Burton Unions at Risk.

Last year we reported (Newsletter No.62) that the EPOCHAL BREWERY in Glasgow acquired a set of Burton Union fermenting vessels . Indeed, we were planning an SBAA event visit to the brewery. Unfortunately, the brewery closed before we could announce our plans. We now hear that the Unions are at risk of being scrapped by the liquidator. The local MSP has put out an appeal to see if they can be saved , I have also contacted the National Brewing Heritage centre at Burton who told me that the design is faithful to the Union system but they were made for Marstons some 20 to 30 years ago. The are in possession of the original Bass unions and would not merit a return – Please let me know if you know of any interest.
Ivor T. Reid

7. Last Runnings

Welcome to new members. 
Pete Dean , Kenneth McClure , Robert Kent , Andrew Arthur and Moyra Jacques who is the Great , Great Grand Daughter of Alexander Gillespie who founded the Crown breweries in Dumbarton and Glasgow. Hopefully Moyra will share her research into the family brewing history with the SBAA membership.

Denis Ayres
We were sad to hear of the passing of SBAA member Denis Ayres. Denis was the leading authority on pottery , specifically the Possil Pottery in Glasgow. The brewing connection is via J&R Tennent who owned the pottery c1916-1943 and produced stoneware bottles and other merchandise for the Glasgow brewer. I believe we have some unpublished research on the brewing connection produced by Denis , hopefully we can publish in a future SBAA article.
“Cooking The Books – Edinburgh Beer Scandal”
A talk on 21st January 2026
Thanks to Russell Harrison for bringing this to our attention:

https://edinburgh.u3asite.uk/u3a_events/monthly-meeting-the-great-edinburgh-beer-duty-scandal-boiling-the-wort-and-cooking-the-book/
SBAA Journal On Line ?
Thanks to the small number of members who let me know their preferences regarding the future of the SBAA journal – Should it move entirely On line to our website or remain as a physical copy posted to members. Several members preferred the physical copy posted to their home address and pointed out that for archiving purposes, particularly at the British and Scottish National libraries , where copies are retained, the physical copy is still required. However , if you are a member happy to view On Line and avoid the postage and administration costs associated with the physical copy, please let me know.

Correspondence to the SBAA Secretary secretary@scottishbrewingarchive.co.uk
SBAA Newsletter No. 66 – Jan. 2026